It Was The Way She Moved
by S.R.Kairi
Summary: They vaguely know each other from high school, but it was as if he was seeing her for the first time. Sasusaku AU
1. I

**A/N: I literally scrapped my first idea of this fic and rewrote it I cry but I HOPE YOU LIKE!**

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 _It was the way she moved…_

…

They didn't know it until they met later, but they knew each other in high school. She was a good student with bright pink hair and he was also a good student with jet-black hair. She needed to work hard in order to get the grades she wanted and he was just a natural genius who never studied. He was a quiet one with a select few friends while she was a more talkative one with her own social group. They spent four years in the same high school and class without every giving each other the time of day to have a conversation. Every time they spoke (which was rare) was to ask what the homework was or if one could borrow a pencil. Just like every girl in that class, she did have a thing for him at one point, but soon outgrew it by senior year. When graduation came along, they shared a glance one moment but that was the last time either one would see each other for a while. He wanted to be a paramedic while she wanted to pursue her dancing career. Two different life paths with seemingly of no hope of ever crossing.

Eight years had passed without them missing each other's existence in fact, they have completely forgotten about many of the people they went to high school with, including each other. The boy who now is a fully-grown, twenty six year old man, roams New York City to save lives every day and he loves what he does.

"Truck one seventeen do you copy," the dispatcher says through the radio.

"Loud and clear," Sasuke responds as he was sitting on standby in his vehicle.

The dispatcher begins to relay the address and the state of emergency he needs to respond to as well as other vital information. He wastes no time in starting up the engine to his truck and heads out to the emergency. As he drives, he expects to walk through the doors of a house with a person having cardiac arrest. When he makes it to the scene, him and three other paramedics take their necessities and jog towards the home. The first thing Sasuke sees when he enters is a person on the floor and sweating profusely. Him and his crew get to work to stabilize the patient and they transport with lightning speed to the hospital. Every time Sasuke jumps into the field he can't help but feel a rush when he successfully does his job. He responds to many calls that day, but he loves it as he goes out there and tends to every emergency that came his way. Even though he was so passionate about his job, Sasuke was still the same quiet and reserved guy that he always was back in high school. He kept his select friends from school and made a few more in New York but that was it.

…

He continues to do the same thing for days and never falters. There were so many different cases that he would forget a significant amount, but there was one in particular that he would never forget.

"Uchiha get out there and respond to an elder woman having trouble breathing," his boss tells him.

Sasuke gathers all the information he needs before he heads out. He makes it to the apartment complex in decent time and uses the elevator to make it to the seventh floor with his team. He sees the door left open and he cautiously walks through.

"Paramedics," he announces.

"Over here!" A feminine voice calls.

He walks over to the sound of her voice and sees a young woman with pink locks next to an older woman taking in ragged breaths. He kneels down beside the elder and asks her questions, checks her pulse as well as her breathing patterns.

"Is she going to be alright?" the young woman asks.

"She's in good hands," one of Sasuke's mates responds.

When they hoist the elder up onto the gurney, the woman grows nervous for her.

"Is it alright if I ride with you guys?" she asks.

"Of course," one of the men replies.

So they cautiously yet swiftly get down to the first floor and wheels the gurney to the ambulance. Once securing the patient inside the vehicle, they allow for the woman to enter. Sasuke drives to the hospital while she sits in the back with her grandmother and he doesn't see her for the rest of the day when they reach the facility.

Sasuke enters the hospital at the end of his shift to pack up the things he left while sleeping in the on call room the other night and little did he know that he would run into the same pink haired girl he sort of met earlier.

"Oh hey!" she calls out from behind as he's leaving the room.

When he turns around, all he sees is a head full of pink hair until he tilts his head down to see the rest of her.

"I saw you earlier didn't I?" he questions.

"Yeah you helped my grandma so when I saw you I wanted to come up to you and say thanks," she speaks a little shyly, but confidant enough.

"No problem," he says without much emotion.

As soon as he attempts to turn away she grabs his attention again.

"Hey wait… I've been thinking about it and… you seem very familiar," she says.

"Hn," he keeps his half turn position and has his eyes staring at the bulletin board ahead.

"If you don't feel the same way then maybe I'm crazy," she lightly chuckles and looks away.

He becomes intrigued and turns to face her once again. Green eyes, pale skin and that distinctive pink hair he realizes that he knew he saw it somewhere before.

"Can I have your name?" she asks so sweetly.

"Sasuke…" he simply replies.

The look in her eyes tells him that she knows exactly who he is, but he still feels left in the dark as to who she is.

"Sasuke Uchiha? From Konoha High in Japan?" she asks.

His brows shift, giving him a peculiar expression. Just who was she? All his friends back in high school he knows were male and if he knew one female then he definitely would've remembered that hair.

"Ah you probably don't remember me but my names Sakura Haruno and I'm pretty sure we went to high school together," she explains.

Sasuke looks at her with the brief facial expression of just getting hit with the memory stick.

 _So this is Sakura_

"I remember," he responds without any real emotion that would indicate any happiness upon seeing her.

"Small world. So you're a paramedic in NYC?" She asks.

He nods.

"That's pretty cool I mean I never thought you would be saving my grandmas life," she smiles.

He isn't sure what he's feeling, but the more she talked the more he remembered small details about her like how she used to keep her hair short and how her nails were always green to match her eyes. How did he remember such things when they were hardly relevant in each other's lives at the time anyway?

"Do you live in the city?" He asks out of curiosity.

"Ah my grandma does so I come visit often. I haven't had a home since Japan because as a professional dancer I'm always traveling," she explains.

 _That's right she was a dancer in high school_

"I just got here and usually when I'm in New York I like to stay for awhile because of grandma," she continues.

"hn," he replies.

Sakura smiles, remembering his reserved attitude in high school and how seeing it now hadn't changed one bit.

"I gotta go but…i-if you want I'm having a show this weekend," she says as she pulls out a ticket.

"Grandma was going to go, but since she fell sick she cant. I mean if you don't want to you don't have to but it's just a friendly offer," she shrugs her shoulders as she shyly looks down at the ground.

Sasuke looks down at the ticket for a period of time before he allows her to drop the ticket into his hand. She smiles, knowing that she probably shouldn't expect him to go but keeps her hopes slightly up in seeing her old high school classmate once again. She walks away before he can say something and he continues to look down at the ticket.

 _Am I even thinking about this right now?_

He stuffs the ticket into his back pocket and begins to head out on his way home.

…

He goes by the rest of the week without seeing or thinking of her as he goes on with his job. It was then one evening right after his shift as he walks through the door he remembers the ticket he left on the counter. He finds it right where he left it and reads the print.

 _Saturday 8:00 PM_

 _Carnegie Hall Presents_

 _Northern Lights_

 _Row 1, Seat 14_

Today is Saturday and it is six o' clock. Sasuke stands there with his eyes scanning the ticket continuously. What was in it for him to go anyway? She was just a classmate that he hardly had contact with. He had no reason to go at all, but the fact that she was here in this part of the world and at the right damn time it…it all just seemed so-

"This isn't some sort of fate," he tells himself.

As he proceeds to go throw out the ticket, he thinks about what would happen if he didn't go. Was some butterfly effect going to happen if he didn't go? Nonsense it was all thought out way too much. He then discards the ticket and decides a shower before he jumps into bed to relax was well needed.

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 **A/N: Damn so he doesn't go? Rood Sasuke very rood. If you like where this is going please** _ **review**_ **for me!**

 **P.S there will be some language in this fic and sexual themes, but nothing heavy.**


	2. II

The lights shine dimly against the red curtains. The women and men in the audience are dressed in suits and long formal dresses. As they find their seats, she's in the back fixing her hair and make up. She pulls back her long bubblegum pink hair into a tight bun before she applies her make up, starting with her foundation. For someone with such flawless skin she didn't need it but she was supposed to. Her eyes are to be light but smoky and her lips tinted in glossy peach to match the other dancers. She already has her colorful leotard, white tights, and pink ballerina shoes on.

"Ladies! Five minutes!" the stage manager calls.

Sakura stands and dusts off her northern light painted leotard and walks over to the curtain. When no one is looking, she sneaks a peak outside to look at the mass audience she is going to perform for tonight. She knows the ticket she gave Sasuke had a front row seat and notices the one chair missing from it. She knows better than to think he would actually show up, but it does sadden her.

"Into position girls!" the overly nervous manager calls.

Without another thought given to Sasuke, Sakura finds her position and gets in her stance on stage. The lights grow brighter against the red curtain and it causes the entire room to silence. The velvet cloth lifts up to reveal the dancers all in their graceful stance and the music begins.

…

It is 8:10 and he knows the show had already begun, but the thought doesn't actually come to mind. He is quiet in his bed, but content with surfing the web through his smart phone. He rubs his tired eyes in the dark loft with only the streetlights from outside leaking through his window and the white light of his phone shining against his face. Sasuke scrolls through his favorite news website and reads his articles and usually disregards the ads on the side. When he sees an article relating to Carnegie Hall, his curiosity gets the best of him and he taps his finger on it. The first thing he sees is a close up picture of Sakura and he doesn't believe she could look that stunning. He acknowledged her beauty in high school and even now, but it does not come across as a big deal to him until he sees that photo.

He scrolls down to read and sees a video in the middle of it. When he taps to play it, he thinks it could be an advertisement but to his surprise he realizes that it is a live stream of her show. Now he is extremely curious as he continues to watch the dance. He spots the pink haired girl immediately from the group and without realizing it, has his eyes only on her. He watches how graceful she moves across the stage, even taking in her facial expressions, which never seem to falter. The more he watches the more he realizes he should've been there and jumps out of bed once he remembers the ticket in the trash. Sasuke fishes it out to look at the time it says and to his annoyance, it does not state an ending time.

It was now when he realizes an unusual strong urge in his chest to do something and without thinking he dresses himself and runs out the door.

…

Sakura goes through three group dances before it is time for her solo dance. She's put blood, sweat and tears into perfecting her techniques to earn herself a spot alone on stage to shine. As the music begins for her, she already feels in control. She dances with the music and the stage lights follow her as the audience stays silent to see her dance. Within her routine, she gives her best form and displays her incredible flexible ability, but that is not what catches the Uchiha, who had found his seat front row. From her beautiful pirouettes to the way she curls her fingers got the man in her grasp. She was so focused on her technique that she didn't notice the audience anymore. When Sakura was on stage, no one else was watching and Sasuke could tell this right away. He falls in love with the way she moves herself and the passionate expressions she gave, though he does not admit it to himself.

His body responds with pure love, but his mind would never give in to such feelings that do not describe Sasuke Uchiha at all. The man that is Sasuke Uchiha does not let someone know his emotions does not let someone know what makes him happy or what makes him sad, always is reserved and quiet, and just simply acts the way that Sasuke Uchiha has always been. He cannot control his feelings but he can lock them away and never let them surface. Even thought he tells himself he can do such, he knows he simply cannot go about his life like this anymore. He now desires to know her, to know just who is the Sakura Haruno he went to high school with. The man cannot remember a thing from his high school days, but he does remember how uneventful that time was so it wasn't possible for him to know. He does recall that he sat next to her every day for four years straight, but it wasn't because they were pals but because it was how it always was since freshmen year. They both like consistency in even the smallest things that they don't realize at first, but Sasuke does now.

As the dance comes to an end, she finishes with her last move and poses as the music fades out. The audience claps at her work and they all know that it is the end of the show. Before the curtain closes, Sakura rolls her eyes down to look at the rows and notices Sasuke's appearance.

 _He actually came?_

Though right as she caught him, the curtain closes right away. Sakura runs off stage to go change in hopes of seeing him outside if she's quick enough. The woman peels off her attire as fast as she can in the dressing room to throw on the shirt and jeans she came in along with her boots and black coat. She doesn't worry about the make up she still wears, but throws off the tight bun to allow her long pink hair to flow and relieve the headache she has from keeping the bun so tight. Sakura swiftly pushes through the other dancers to make it to the back exit and the rounds the corner once she's outside to see if she made it before he did. She watches as every single person leaves the building and not one of them was Sasuke.

 _Maybe he did go home_

Disappointed in not seeing him, she turns around walk towards the direction of her grandmother's house. What if she was just seeing things? She thinks that maybe she just wanted someone to be there for her so bad that she actually thought he was there. But then why wouldn't she have thought of her grandmother if she were to hallucinate? Her mind is so clouded with thoughts that she doesn't realize she was going to bump someone and when she does she immediately apologizes as she brings herself back to awareness.

"Sorry!"

"Don't worry about it."

She realizes she bumps into a male who has an oddly familiar voice. He has black hair and is dressed rather nicely, but just by his black hair and voice she knows who he is.

"S-Sasuke?"

"Not a bad performance tonight," he speaks cool and casual.

Her face looks stunned and can hardly form any words. "I-I thought you weren't going to-"

"Got off work late," he lies, but he wasn't going to tell her he initially did not plan to go.

"here," he adds, holding up a red rose. "They gave these out to us."

She looks down at it and begins to feel emotional. Her small pale hand gently takes the rose, brushing the softness of her skin against his, which electrifies his skin in a way that he has never felt and doesn't quite understand so he pushes the feeling away. Her eyes continue to look down at the rose, trying to compose herself.

"I…I really am grateful for this…Sasuke."

She lifts her head to look at the Uchiha with teary eyes and the warmest smile he has ever seen.

"My grandmother has never missed a show until now," she sniffles.

"She's my only relative and she's been the best person since I was little so she means a lot to me and for her to not come tonight did make me sad but…you came in her place and…I'm so happy that," she adds with a few tears streaming from her eyes.

Deep inside, he felt her pain like no other and he feels it is because they share similar history.

"I only had my mom up until I was fourteen and that was it, there was no one else. So I get it," he says to her.

Sakura looks at him with stunned eyes and she is not sure what to say to him other than she's sorry but decides to keep that. Sasuke knows she's feeling sympathetic for him but brushes off the sad atmosphere and does not allow her to feel like that towards him.

"I'll walk you home," he says and she doesn't protest.

…

When daylight is just creeping over the horizon, his alarm clock goes off and he is up at the first ring. He starts his day with a shower as usual and gets on his uniform. Sasuke is a simple man as he does all the necessary things that he needs to do in order to be on his way to work. When he makes it to the hospital, he goes to find his usual partner who was supposed to be back from vacation with his wife from Japan.

"Hey Bastard! Did ya miss me?"

One arm gets thrown over Sasuke's shoulder and that's all it takes for his annoyance to set in.

"Get off of me you dobe," Sasuke sighs.

His partner wasn't just someone Sasuke had met in New York. His name was Naruto Uzumaki and they have been friends since birth. Without verbally saying it, they considered each other as brothers.

"How was visiting home?" Sasuke asks in his laid back tone.

"Ah it was great! Had my favorite ramen at my favorite ramen stand, y'know the one we used to go to almost everyday on our way back from school?" Naruto replies in a joyful tone.

"Yeah I know the one. You took Hinata there on your first date too I remember."

"Aw yeah! She loved it too!"

"Lets get go-"

"She's crashing!" A nurse calls.

The hallway turns chaotic and doctors as well as nurses rush to the patient in critical need. He understands that a person is on the verge of dying in there, but he can only hope for the best and allow the doctors to bring them back.

"No! You have to let me stay please!"

His eyes widen as he knows that voice from anywhere. All he can see is a frantic body with frantic face and pink hair. A female nurse struggles to keep her away from the scene and it triggers Sasuke to jump in and hold Sakura from behind.

"Let go of me!" she yells.

As soon as he sees the old woman in the room brought back, he lets go of the girl as she races back to the room.

"Miss Haruno please! In order for us to care for your grandmother we can't have you in here!" One of the nurses pleads

Sakura stands there for a moment, looking down at her frail grandmother. It hurts her deeply, but she knows she needs to let them work so she turns around and leaves the room. When the door shuts behind her, she flinches but does not let it get to her too much. She sees a pair of feet across from her and looks up to see the paramedic who held her. They lock eyes and he knows she is feeling pain and she knows he sees it. Her eyes tell him she's losing hope and that she doesn't know what to do, but because he does not betray his policy of no emotions he cannot offer her anything. He can see that she does not sleep and hasn't slept now that he can see her for the first time without any sort of make up. Her face is pale with streaks of wetness from her tears and her eyes are red.

He knows she is falling, but he doesn't know how to save her from shattering. He has known ever since meeting the old woman for the first time a week ago that her time was coming, but he wasn't sure if Sakura understood that or was aware. She looks away from him for a moment, but doesn't move. She knows that he understands what this is like better than anyone because he's lost people too and that alone she forces herself to take before she walks away from him.

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 **A/N: Ahhh of course Naruto had to make an appearance! XD Let me know what you think in the reviews for the next one!**


	3. III

**A/N: So yeah I completely forgot about this story to the point where I didn't even remember writing a second chapter! Yes I'm horrible and I'm one of those who gets frustrated at authors who abandon their fics for some years BUT I am one of them so I can't be completely mad! Also keep in mind that I write my stories on a writing app so forgive me desktop/laptop readers if the format ever looks funky. So without further ramblings, heres chapter three.**

 **Warning: This chapter focuses on death and loss**

To be a doctor or a nurse meant that one could not hold the baggage of every death that happens in their career. If they did then no one could function enough to try and save the next life. That included paramedics. People die on the scene and unfortunately there is nothing anyone can do about it. The best thing to do is to simply push foward and work to save the lives that can be saved. Sasuke knew from the very beginning what it took to be successful in this job and does not let any emotions get the best of him. His discipline comes from past hardships and he knows it, but does not let it define his personality.

"That's insane..."

He's there sitting in the ambulance with the Uzumaki who had just learned about all his encounters with Sakura.

"It's crazy to think after all these years you'd meet her like this," Naruto speaks astonished at everything he's heard. "So if her grandmother dies...what do you think she's gonna do?" He adds.

Sasuke sits there silent for a moment and wonders the same. Sell the apartment and take off? It's a thought. Something he thinks he would do if he were in the position. "Hard to say," he responds.

"Truck one seventeen."

The first call comes in and they are off. Sasuke doesn't really think about the things him and Naruto talked about or even the events of that morning for the rest of the day.

Sakura is in the room where her grandmother lies frail on the bed in deep sleep. She hasn't left her side since the scare that morning and it's 10:00 PM. The nurse comes in every hour to deliver the medication and they have the same conversation.

"You should eat," the nurse says.

"I'll be fine," Sakura replies dryly

"I'll watch her closely so you should go home and rest," the nurse insists.

"I'm good right here," Sakura replies dry again.

As soon as the nurse administers the medication she turns to head out, but something is stopping her at the door. "Oh Miss. Haruno I'm sorry but visiting hours are over for today," she informs.

Sakura knows begging to try and stay would be no use, policy is policy. She loosens the grip she's had for hours on her grandmother's hand and it is painful to let go. Slowly picking herself up off the chair causes her to wince at the sharp pain in her tailbone that she's abused from sitting on it all day. She grabs her purse and walks past the nurse without making another glance at her grandmother. Her legs purposely walk slower in order to slow the distance that she is creating between her and her grandmother.

What if something happened during the night? What if she calls for help and no one is there to assist? What if-

It is too much to think about so she forces those thoughts away. She thinks there has to be a way for her to stay in the hospital because going back to the apartment would just eat her alive. Sakura rides down to the first floor in the elevator and the first thing she notices upon exiting is the emergency waiting room. Theres a comfortable amount of people waiting to be seen and she thinks she could blend in. Being around sick people is depressing to her, but nothing was more depressing than being in an apartment where she is haunted by the memories shared in it. She takes a seat all the way in the back and makes herself comfortable.

Sasuke enters the hospital at 2:00 AM ready to turn in after a slow night. He has his coat hanging over his shoulder while Naruto walks beside him spilling his rambles.

"So yeah that's the story! Hinata's probably waiting all cozy in that bed so I'd better skidaddle! Heh," the Uzumaki gives his signature goofy grin as he walks a few steps ahead of the Uchiha. "Y'know if you ever need some help I know a few-"

"Don't even," Sasuke interrupts as he walks past.

He knew this was leading to Naruto attempting to offer him a date with one of Hinata's lady friends and he isn't having it tonight.

"You're no fun! Well goodnight loner," Naruto sighs as he parts ways with him.

Sasuke gathers his belongings and makes sure everything is in place before he leaves and allows the next shift to take over. He almost doesn't notice the shade of bubblegum pink that is all the way in the back of the waiting room for urgent care and it almost knocks the wind out of him. He makes his way over while his eyes analyze what he can see of her and notices no obvious injury, but there had to be something wrong. Was she horribly sick? Injury that he couldn't see?

"Sakura," he stands in front of her sleeping form and uses his foot to lightly tap hers.

She jolts awake and is disoriented for a moment. "Sasuke?"

Her tone of voice tells him there might not be something horribly wrong with her and takes a seat in the one beside her. "What are you doing in emergency?"

Sakura rubs the sleep out of her eyes as she straightens out in her chair. Pain in her body settled in as memories of recent events unfolded in her mind and she wishes she was asleep again to forget. "I didn't want to go back to the apartment."

"Have you been here since this morning?"

She pauses for a moment, not wanting to tell the truth and then have another person on her for not taking care of herself. She can't lie to him though. "Yes," she responded dryly.

"She has pneumonia, right?"

"Yes," she responds dry again.

He's silent and simply looks ahead. There was no need to ask more questions as he already knows the answers to all of them and understands better than anyone around that she won't leave. He was never good at saying the right words in order to comfort someone, but he feels that he wasn't meant to. So he sits.

"What are you doing?"

"Sleep. I'll wake you if I need to."

He slips down in his chair and sits slouching with his arms crossed. Sakura only looks at his side profile wanting to protest and say that he should just go home and get some rest, but something tells her not to. His presense was comforting and she feels better not going through it alone.

When Sasuke slips away to find the nurse in the early hours of sunrise, he gets word that her grandmother quickly went downhill due to the advanced progression of her pneumonia and died not long ago. He asks for the doctor on the case to have him meet her in the consultation room to deliver the news as soon as possible. He carries the weight of the news on his shoulders as he makes his way back to Sakura who is still sleeping in her chair and wakes her gently. He tells her to come with him without betraying emotion and her eyes widen, signaling to him that she is already assuming the worst. He can't look at her in that moment and just takes her by the wrist, pulling her to the room where they would meet the doctor. She doesn't need to hear it as she collapses onto the floor and breaks out into sobs. The doctor previously warned that she might not make it through the night due to her age and the progression of the infection. Sasuke isn't sure how to act in a situation like this, but thinks back to how he's lost people on the scene in front of their families and how he witnessed them cry on top of their bodies. He would always just stand off to the side and waited until he found the opportunity to take the body and transport it.

The doctor comes in shortly and he looks to Sakura on the floor before he looks up at Sasuke.

"She knew," Sasuke simply stated.

The doctor gives a nod before closing the door behind him and kneels down to place a hand over her back. "Whenever you're ready, we can talk about this," he says carefully.

Sakura wipes the tears from her cheeks and slowly gathers herself to a standing position. This had to be dealt with and closed for her own sake so she walks over to a chair and sits down. The doctor takes his seat across from her and Sasuke decides it would be best to stand by the door.

"First of all, I wanted to give you my condolenses-"

"Please just...say what you need to say so I can leave," Sakura doesn't look him in the eye when she says that.

The doctor tells her the details of the death and offers her options as to how to go about the next steps. He tells her that she doesn't need to give an answer right there but very soon she needs to come to a decision. He offers to let her see her grandmother and in her mind she knows she wants to, but her heart is begging for it all to stop.

She looks to Sasuke who is still standing by the door with his arms crossed and says, "I want you to come with me...please."

He's a little surprised that she asks him to accompany her to see her deceased grandmother, but knows that there is no one else but him that can be there for her. Sasuke responds with a nod and uncrosses his arms to open the door for the two.

The walk to the room is painful and scary. She's walking beside Sasuke while the doctor walks ahead of them down the all of the third floor. As soon as they stand right in front of the door, the doctor goes to open it, but she tells him not yet and unconsciously wraps her fingers around Sasuke's bicep as if she was bracing for something. He looks at her and sees that she is only staring so harshly at the door. The doctor can't do it and she can't so he does. The door opens by his hand and he guides her in to the side of the bed where the body hid under a thin sheet. The doctor excuses himself to give them a moment alone and she slowly lifts her free hand. The hand is shaky and unsteady, but he uses his steady one to guide her to the top of the sheet and helps her expose the face.

As far as he knows, she now has no one in this world that is family blood and it reminds him that he doesn't either, but the thought only comes as a sting to his heart. He can tell that she's never seen a dead body before as her face pales at the sight. He remembers the feeling, the feeling of everything around becoming unreal and that this is hell. Life is short, the time one has with their people is always never enough. Sakura is still and the grip she has on Sasuke becomes noticeably weaker. She doesn't cry or show any emotion, which tells him she is in shock at what she sees. What he doesn't expect, though, is to see her about to collapse and he captures her in his arms when she does. He looks at her face and notices how tired it is, how spent. Her pulse is fine and her breathing is normal. Exhaustion and shock were the only culprit of this he thinks and is about to call for a nurse to get her a bed, but stops himself.

He knows having her sleep in the hospital would just be a cruel thing to have her wake up to and opts for something he knows he wouldn't usually do for anyone besides Naruto maybe.

She wakes up under red sheets in a room where the sunrays peek through curtains to give dim light. She realizes quickly that this is a man's room because of the colors and decor. Sakura sits up and notices she still wears the same clothes that she's been wearing and cautiously lifts herself off the bed. She can hear a tv show playing just outside and quietly opens the door to see a small hallway that lead to a common space where there was a beautiful little kitchen to the left and what looked like a living room space to the right. She sees an arm resting over the couch and the other occupied with the remote.

"Sasuke?" She calls out cautiously.

He hears his name and lowers the volume as he stands up to meet her from where she is. His eyes examine her tired face, but notice that she looks better than before.

"Is this your place?" She asks curiously.

"It is," he simply states before walking over to the fridge to grab his filtered water and fills two glasses of it. He hands her one and she gratefully accepts it.

"It's a really beautiful apartment," she compliments as she takes a sip.

"Hn," is all he replies with, but she knows it means thanks in his own way.

"But why did you bring me here?" She asks gently as she sets the cup on the counter.

"You told the doctor that you wanted to leave," he responds.

The way he talks tells her that he wasn't going to give the answer she truly wanted and decides to leave it at that. "Thank you."

Sasuke swiftly drinks the glass empty and sets the cup into the sink before he walks back to the couch. "At this point you can stay or go. Up to you," he informs.

She stands there and unwanted thoughts of her pain begin to intrude her mind again and she knows that she doesn't want to leave to face it alone. Her grandmother's apartment was still not an option and finishing business at the hospital was still too soon for her. She needs the day to grieve and process, but she couldn't burden Sasuke with it.

"Sit down," he says, breaking the silence between them.

Sakura looks at the back of his head confused, but complies as she walks around the couch to plant herself next to him with a comfortable distance of course. He knows all too well of the conflict she was dealing with inside and makes the decision for her.

She's grateful that they spend hours just watching whatever interesting thing pops up on the television because even though her heart is in pain, she doesn't have to be alone with her thoughts. He notices the few tears that escape and isn't sure what to say, but hopes that his presence helps in the slightest.

By the end of the week she is barely crawling. The day after the funeral, she forces herself to clean out the apartment and put the most important things into storage before she puts it up for sale. She needs it all to be behind her in order to heal and so she is trying. Sasuke gives her his number as a way to offer his help if she ever needed, but she doesn't bother calling as he already has done enough. She decides to spend most of her days in a hotel room where she didn't have to face the world. Dancing and traveling were not even a thought during this period and she doesn't care. Everything is going too fast and she needs it to stand still for a moment. It crosses her mind after another week has passed that she should give Sasuke a call and so she does. When he asks how she's been, she lies and says she's better but he knows the truth. One conversation leads to another and before she knows it, he is knocking on the door to her hotel room. She opens the door, not looking her best and he sighs.

"Pack up and check out," he says.

"Why?" She asks.

"You're staying with me."

 **A/N: I wasn't sure how to end this chapter so that was hard, but here it is finally. Please review for me and tell me how this chapter went for you all.**


	4. IV

A/N: Back with another chapter. So this one was fun to write I think, but I did want to add that the rating is now M for the minor sexual scene and brief swear words. I did not entertain the sexual part at all for this chapter it is very brief and not explicit just because I wasn't really focusing on that but y'know when you write and your mind just wanders to new ideas so. Also I never intended Sasuke's personality to match the canon I wanted to use that personality and add my own ideas to it for this story so that was in case you found him to be a little ooc for this chapter. Enjoy.

* * *

 _I know you said to me_

 _"This is exactly how it should feel when its meant to be"_

He is carrying her things into his apartment and sets her baggage down in his room. She follows him inside, looking drained and pale in the face with noticeable dark circles and red eyes. Her nose is pink as well as her lips and she is simply miserable. He emerges from his room and walks over to the kitchen to fix them both a glass of water because he knows that she hasn't been taking care of herself.

"Sit down on the couch."

And she does so without protest. Her body plops onto the cushion without a care and allows her head to fall back. Sasuke looks at her broken state from the kitchen and it takes him back to when he too felt like he lost it all. He did lose it all though. No one to call family anymore, no one to give him a roof over his head at the age eighteen. Absolutely no support. Of course his best friend always insisted throughout the years that they should just become roommates to ease his burden but Sasuke would never allow Naruto to help him carry his weight.

"You need to drink something."

Sasuke places the glass next to her on the stand before he goes to sit down. She doesn't bother to pick up the glass and there is silence between them. When he is about to say something about her not being hydrated, Sakura is the one break the silence first.

"Why are you doing this? You don't owe me anything."

She was right, he didn't owe her a single thing but here he was having taken her in like a stray puppy. It had nothing to do with him simply wanting to be a good person, no. It must've been because he sees so much of his former broken self in her that it made him feel something. It could be just empathy.

"Do you want to get drunk?"

He just blurts it out before taking a sip of his water. Being a young kid, Sasuke didn't have the opportunity to drown his sorrows into alcohol. Maybe being around her now was giving him crazy ideas, but he somehow didn't care.

"What?"

"I'm asking you if you want to get drunk."

He says it again like it's a perfectly normal question to ask anyone. Her head was already lifted and looking straight at him with a confused expression. Maybe this was his way of trying to help her through the emotions.

"Yeah."

"Finish that water, I'll be back."

He stands up and grabs his keys before exiting the apartment. Sakura is left in the silence of his home and isn't sure what to do. She looks over to the water beside her and chugs it all down without pause.

...

When he comes back he is holding a brown paper bag in one arm as he goes to the kitchen to set it down. Sakura, awake from her few minutes of sleep, gets up and curiously makes her way over. He pulls out two hard liquors, Tequila and whiskey and then a pack of beer.

"So we're actually getting trashed?"

Sasuke pulls out two shot glasses and some lime he already had in the fridge.

"College party style."

Some might say this was a stupid idea, that there's healthier ways to deal with grief instead of drowning one's sorrows in alcohol. That didn't matter though. Not to him and definitely not to her. He's drinking with her to get rid of the sting in his own heart and she's drinking with him to glue the pieces back even if they stayed together for a little while. They drink until they lose count of the shots they've taken and they end up once again on the couch with beers in their hands this time. The living room is dim with only the light of a standing lamp in the corner keeping the room from total darkness. It's quiet with the exception of the occasional car passing by or a siren, but that's New York. And at this point they are silently wasted, that is until Sakura lets out quiet giggles.

"Something funny?"

"You sure can drink a lot."

"So can you."

They really can. A whole bottle of tequila, maybe half the bottle of whiskey and now a beer. Sasuke never willingly partied in his college days as Naruto was the one to drag him to all the events, but when he did go he drank... a lot. Sakura by nature was more willing and went out almost every weekend in her early college days so the drinking came with the package.

"Hey what's this rack of CD's?"

She places her bottle down to examine the rack and naturally wobbles as she stands up, but is able to balance herself. When she makes it over to the stand she notices the many rock titles he has.

"Wow you really like violent music."

"It's not violent. Violent is metal and all that shit."

Sasuke was not one to curse much, but anything was possible with him in this altered state. Her finger travels down through all the bands until she finds something she doesn't expect.

"The hell is this..."

And she also wasn't a swearer.

"Alicia Keys?"

Sasuke raises an eyebrow and leans forward as if he thinks he could see the CD from where he sat.

"Oh that's probably- that bastard man."

"Whose?"

"It's not mine. My b-best friend uh...fuck what's his name."

He pinches the bridge of his nose and closes his eyes. Sakura looks at him amused.

"Listen it's okay I mean I like Alicia Keys too! Ah I but don't loooove her as much as I think you might."

"Naruto!"

He blurts it out just in time and Sakura giggles. There's a stereo next to the rack and she gets the idea to place the disk inside to play some music. As soon as she does though, the first track plays and it is "Un-thinkable."

"I did a dance to t-this one awhile ago."

"Really?"

"Want me to do it?"

Sasuke nods and she goes to push the coffee table out of the way for space. She doesn't think to play the song from the beginning and instead begins from wherever the song is at.

 _If you have something to say_

 _You should say it right now_

Her speed isn't rushed and her movements are fluid, each piece connecting to the next. It was amazing and honestly a talent to be able to dance in such a way as if sober. And then she got this same look in her eyes when she danced, the one Sasuke now recognizes as her when she dances. It was beautiful, even with her hair tied up messily and that hoodie and those sweatpants, she was beautiful. He watched the way she gracefully dropped to the ground, toes pointed and fingers graceful at all times. The way she lifted her legs and demonstrated great flexibility. This was her passion and not even a drunken state could change the way she danced. He finds himself standing up right before the second chorus to join her and he doesn't know why he does it. He just knows he wants to.

 _I was wondering maybe_

 _Could I make you my baby_

 _If we do the unthinkable would it make us look crazy_

His hand rests on her lower back as his other hand takes hers and they dance as one. What a magnificent dancer that she doesn't even flinch at the change of choreography and improvises with him now as her partner. Sasuke isn't a dancer, but his new found courage allowed him to fake it. He moves in connection with her, twirling her and allowing her to do her own movements around his. By this point her hoodie is discarded and she is wearing a tank top underneath, allowing her to move more freely. His hands don't leave her body as he takes her for a dip and as soon as he brings her back up their faces are dangerously close. Her arm is wrapped around his neck as her other hand is clutching his. There was nothing to be said, he kisses her and she doesn't reject it. The kiss is sloppy just as drunk kisses are, but they are passionate in it. His hand slips under her shirt and travels up to her chest where he finds the softest mounds. Now it is a full make-out and she is undoing his uniform while he gets her out of her own clothes in a rush.

Sasuke hoists her up by the thighs and allows her to wrap herself around his waist as he clumsily makes his way to the bedroom. Love is made or rather sex has happened and they sleep off the alcohol that has caused them to be so careless.

...

She's the one to wake up first and with a nasty hang over. Thank goodness that he keeps his curtains closed or else the light might make her head pound even more. She doesn't want to get out of bed and she's afraid that if she does then the migraine will trigger. When she flips herself to the opposite side she notices Sasuke in his sleeping form and realizes what had happened. Got trashed and had sex. His eyes open half way, blurry visioned until it finally becomes clear and she is looking straight at him. Her bare shoulders immediately reminded him of it all and he groans, rolling onto his back with his arm slapped over his eyes.

"I- I'm sorry."

She sits up, pulling the sheets over her chest. She isn't sure on what else to say and the awkwardness of the situation sets in on her.

"It was my fault."

He moves his arm over his head as he looks up to the ceiling. If he never offered to get drunk then this wouldn't have happened. He isn't sure either on what to say next but move on and not discuss it again.

"Maybe I should just...go back to the hotel."

"No."

"Why?"

"Because we aren't going to make this awkward just-"

He sighs and pauses for a moment trying to clear his thoughts and if this morning could not get any worse, Sakura feels the urge to release the contents of her stomach. She grabs a towel lying on the floor to wrap it around herself before she rushes to the nearest bathroom and shuts the door behind her. He could hear the whole thing go down and thinks that he may have given her way more to drink than he did himself. He uses this time to put on some pants and a shirt before he grabs one of her bags and walks to the bathroom door.

"Open up I have one of your bags."

He hears the faucet running and then it stops before the door is opened a little and her sickly pale hand is reaching for the bag. He hands it to her and she closes the door. _What a mess_ he thought. Sasuke busies himself in the kitchen while she freshens up and gets dressed. He takes down an aspirin to reduce his hangover symptoms and makes sure to leave her a tablet to take as well. When she emerges from the bathroom, she makes her way to the kitchen and notices that he is putting bread in the toaster.

"Take that aspirin."

Sakura looks at him then at the tablet as she picks it up to down it with some water. Having freshened up made her feel a lot better, but she still feels as if she could sleep the day away. The silence between them again is making her feel just as awkward as before and she needed to say something.

"Sasuke I just wanted to say I-"

The knock on the door causes her to freeze.

"Sasuke open up!"

Sakura looks at Sasuke in horror while he looks at the door surprised. There is company and for a young woman to be in a man's apartment in this situation was not ideal. This is definitely a not what it looks like scene and yet it was.

"I-Is that...?"

"Naruto."

There was nothing else to be said and Sakura runs to the bathroom where she shuts the door and leaves the light off. Sasuke sighs and goes to answer the door where his best blonde headed friend barges right through and Hinata is there standing by the door.

"Wow you're awake before noon for once!"

Sasuke scratches the back of his head as she smiles at him when he beckons her to enter. She slowly makes her way through and the couple sits down on the couch. He's getting more nervous by the second and tells himself that he needs to find a way to make this quick.

"So anyways I had Hinata call a friend and we're doing a double date!"

"What?"

"It's time for you to have a girlfriend I'm so tired of this whole lone guy act you got going on."

"Since when did you think you could act as my-"

"Get dressed! Man I gotta use the bathroom."

And then Sasuke's eyes widen and he's already rushing to the door where Naruto quickly stands up and jogs over to the hallway.

"Uh toilet isn't working right now."

"Then I'll piss in the tub but I gotta go I'm about to burst!"

The blonde shoves the Uchiha out of the way and when he opens the door there is no one. Sasuke manages to release a quiet sigh of relief but then he wonders just where the pinkette is. He takes the time while his friend is occupied to walk over to his room where he carefully opens the door and closes it behind, locking it.

"Sakura..."

He whispers so the blonde and his wife doesn't hear and he sees the woman slowly emerge from his closet.

"What's going on? Is he dragging you out?"

"He's trying to but it's not going to work."

And then they hear the bathroom door open and Naruto is there banging on the door. Sasuke sighs in frustration while Sakura internally panics.

"I wanna see what you're wearing you can't embarrass me on this! And your toilet works fine!"

She looks at him for guidance, what to do next and he points to his bed. His closet was no longer and option so the next best thing was to hide her under the thick covers. She was so small and petite that he's sure that her figure wouldn't show through. So she gets into his bed and he throws the sheets over her as well as some clothes he had on the floor to make sure she was disguised well. When he opens the door, Naruto walks through without a word as he opens the closet to find an impressive outfit for his best friend.

"Listen I'm busy today I can't be doing-"

"The hell you aren't! you always do this."

"And so what if I don't want to go on a date? What if I'm fine?"

"Like that can fool me now here put this on."

Naruto hands him a nice navy blue shirt and jeans. Sasuke wants to protest, but he knows his best friend all too well and that meant that no matter how hard he tries to leave a situation, Naruto just wouldn't have it. So then he changes the plan.

"An hour, that's all I'm giving this."

"Two hours."

"One. Hour."

The blonde sighs, plopping onto the edge of the bed before Sasuke can react and he's already raising an eyebrow. He can tell there is something under the sheets from where he sits and when he moves his hand over to the center-

"Don't touch that!"

Sasuke grabs his hand, standing his friend up by the armpits where Naruto grows even more confused as well as curious.

"Whatdya got hiding under there huh? A girl?"

It's a tease and he knows that from the way the man giggles and speaks sarcastically, but that's literally what he's hiding and it's all becoming too much. Naruto brushes him away to lift the sheets and he's swatted away from the bed.

"Ow! What's you're deal?"

"Quit touching stuff that isn't yours!"

"Tell me what you got under there!"

"It's just porn stuff now get out!"

Sasuke shoves him out the door and locks it once again before Sakura slowly pushes the sheets to reveal her eyes. There's a brief silence between them before she asks,

"Do you really have a porn stash?"

He shoots her a glare for making such a joke before he thinks she might be serious and is disgusted to think she thinks he's that type of guy. Then she rolls her eyes with a giggle and gestures him to get dressed quickly while she hid under the sheets once more. He wants to throw a dirty shirt at her for that but instead dresses.

"I'll be back as soon as I can."

He tells her that before she hears the door is opened and shut then everything else is just muffled chatter for a few minutes. Before she knows it she's alone in his apartment and the sheets are thrown off. She's climbing out of his bed with a groan from all that's happened. She knows now that she has to find something to occupy herself and thinks that a morning spent watching television and eating the burnt toast Sasuke made might be a start.

...

It's 6:00 PM and the door finally opens. Sakura is still on laying down on the couch cuddling a pillow while watching a marathon of Harry Potter movies. Sasuke looks over with a guilty expression as he carefully shuts the door behind him and thinks of something to say.

"Have you eaten anything?"

"Not really."

Just as he suspected, but he's grateful because he knows that he can somewhat make this right by giving her the leftover lunch he made sure to save.

"I have leftovers if you want."

Sakura finally peels herself from the couch to walk over to the kitchen counter where she finds her seat on one of the bar stools and he is standing on the opposite side of her, pushing a box towards her. She knows it's pizza but when she actually opens the box it was as if she was experiencing it for the first time.

"I haven't had pizza since I was a little girl."

"Really?"

Sasuke was able to take pleasures like this for granted. He forgets that as a dancer comes with a strict diet. A figure must be maintained at all costs, comes with the profession. She grabs a slice of the cheese and it's still room temperature. She savors every bite she takes despite her desire to swallow everything out of hunger.

"Sorry I took so long."

"He just wouldn't let you leave huh."

He grins at the fact that she hardly knew his blonde friend and yet she was already able to pick up just the type of person he is. When she catches that grin she is staring because such a face wasn't like the Uchiha. He never cracked a smile let alone make a small grin and she had to admit it made him look even more attractive than he already was. Sasuke notices her stare and simply turns away to get a glass of water.

"You got sauce on the side of your mouth."

He points it out just before he turns and she quickly brushes the back of her hand over her mouth in embarrassment that he could be so rude as to say it so blunt like that. He gulps down the half glass he poured and provides her with water as well while she continues to eat.

"So who did he set you up with?"

Sakura asks that question so casually that it almost catches him off guard. It was a woman named Karin. She was beautiful and anyone could admit that. Smart and talented too. She had a whole career ahead of her and was doing everything right by the book. Yes she certainly was dating material but-

"Some girl."

"Some girl? What did she look like?"

"Red hair with glasses, pale I guess. She wasn't my type anyway and what do you care?"

"I don't! I was just curious!"

She didn't. It was just a question and a way to make conversation so as to not make the atmosphere awkward. There was a silence between them before Sakura quietly asks,

"...Was she pretty?"

And then there was a knock at the door.

"Sasuke?"

He freezes from where he stands and it's almost like the day couldn't get any more stressful. She was here at his apartment. Karin. How did she even know his address anyway?

And so here's to round two of the let's-not-get-caught game.


End file.
